Learning lessons from 'Lincoln'

3:29 AM,
Dec. 2, 2012

Written by

Doyle McManus
| McClatchy Newspapers

In the rest of the country, it may be just another movie, but in Washington, Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" has become a political Rorschach test.

It seems as if every pundit in the capital has gone to see the masterful biopic about our 16th president, and - surprise - they all found something to support their views about contemporary politics.

The analogies are hard to resist. The movie is set in the first months after Lincoln won a second term, facing an unruly lame-duck Congress. Over the objections of risk-averse aides, the president decides to seek passage of a constitutional amendment ...